Lucy Johnstone's book provides a brave and highly critical account of the day to day practice of traditional psychiatry. The first part uses case histories to illustrate how this approach can often be more harmful than helpful. In the second part she sets the medical model approach in a broader context, looking at the training of professionals, the history of the medical profession in psychiatry, and the role of the drug industry. Finally, she examines the role of psychiatry in society, arguing that its main function is one of social control.